


Winter Warriors

by SnowMercury



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-10 11:11:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13500622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowMercury/pseuds/SnowMercury
Summary: Mistlekit goes missing not long after the hawk takes her brother, Snowkit. They are forgotten to the world until, many many moons later, a prophecy is announced. The clans are experiencing their harshest winter yet, and whitecough is spreading through the clans like wildfire.What happens next?(This illustrated fic ascribes to a few changes to the original books, although they will not be described within the fic. There are too many to list right here, but they should be easy to spot. :> They're largely inspired by @charadreemurr on tumblr and discussions in the catastrophe zine and catastrophe tarot deck discords. Story takes place right after Firestar's death.)





	Winter Warriors

**Author's Note:**

> heya!!!
> 
> okay, so credit where credit is due; a lot of this is inspired by @charadreemurr on tumblr's posts, although the prophecy/a lot of the mistlekit content comes from my own speculation. medicine cat lionblace i found mentioned at the following posts  
> http://nmirah.tumblr.com/post/166200442702/maybe-lion-could-be-lionshine-for-his-willingness  
> https://g-ayfeather.tumblr.com/post/169604185295/ok-but-lionblaze-is-the-medicine-cat-of  
> https://skrs-cats.tumblr.com/post/163594943536/au-where-lion-someway-or-another-becomes-the-med  
> http://sorrelstream.tumblr.com/post/151370644474/like-okay-hear-me-out-hollyleaf-is-mentored-by  
> however, i found that it was a relatively common idea and couldn't locate the source. brackenfur as leader i think has been a relatively common idea as well? i feel like there was a post going around on tumblr a bit back about it, ill edit this to include it.  
> mistlekit going and finding her brother snowkit is an au developed by both me and @charadreemurr, heres the posts on that  
> https://khybex.tumblr.com/post/166913222343/concept-new-warriors-arc-called-winter-warriors  
> http://charadreemurr.tumblr.com/post/167346723470/draikinator-au-where-the-erins-didnt  
> basically, theres a bunch of stuff here from au stories. @jjadestar, @charadreemurr, and @nmirah are those i know of with jayfeather is a warrior aus, and @jjadestar @charadreemurr and i are ones with snowkit-survives aus afaik.  
> mothwing being the three's other parent is @charadreemurr's au as well!  
> if anybody knows of more, feel free to lmk!)

The winter was harsh. Snow fell from the sky and coated the ground, making it easier for prey to see hunting cats; lack of easily hunted prey led to more frequent border disputes, and worst of all was the frozen camp. Thunderclan's dens were coated in ice, the nests starting to grow stale, and the rocks above camp coated in shiny, shimmering ice- making it all the more easy for cats to slip over the edge of the cliff.

It was also, coincidentally, the middle of a white-out. Cats couldn't see further than two feet in front of them, if that; cats weren't allowed to leave the camp without two others with them at least; not that anybody wanted to. They needed food, but Thunderclan was, at best, just surviving the harsh winter. Their whiskers froze over the moment they went outside, barely able to open their eyes.

 

It was in this bitter cold on a late night that Lionshine received a dream from Starclan.   
Unlike most dreams from the ethereal cats, this particular one was tinged with the same frostbitten edge as the waking one. In front of him was a tortoiseshell cat, green eyes catching some unseen light as she walked towards him, blinding whiteness surrounding him. Spottedleaf smiled, touching her nose to his in greeting before backing up a step.   
"The clans would do well to remember this. Snow will return, the clans will melt, and plants will wilt. The age of fire is over; the age of ice will begin."

As she spoke, the snow on the ground turned into icicles, shooting up to encase Lionshine until only his face remained. As the last piece of ice slowly slid down, obscuring his vision, he sat up. Breathing heavily, the medicine cat took a few deep breaths, calming himself down from his dream. It was at times like these he wished he had taken after his Riverclan mom in belief; he'd already taken after her in profession, why couldn't he have a night's sleep as well? Tail flicking as he looked around the still-dark den, he gazed over the sleeping figures of Briarlight, Leafpool, and Brambleflower. Bramble had recently come down with some kind of cough, and was staying in the den for a bit- Lion grimaced as he heard a soft cough, watched the shudder go through his dad's form. It could be horrible, being sick; he'd seen enough coughing cats to know he was extraordinarily lucky, not getting sick very often. 

Leafpool, as lucky as she was, seemed to be sleeping peacefully as well. No coughs or shudders to be seen there. Lionshine's ear flicked as he took note of this, deciding not to wake her up. She could hear about it in the morning, couldn't she? The prophecy didn't seem to be too time-restricted. Besides, who knows if she'd wake up having the same dream later in the night. Better not to interrupt her sleep too much; in this cold, everybody needed as much rest as they could get.

And finally, Briarlight. She'd moved into the den to prevent too much travel outside in the snow for Lionshine to check her exercises; besides, with this cold, it was better for her to be out of the same den as all the other warriors. Even if there was a sick one in here right now. Lion frowned, making a note to talk to Leafpool about that decision later; since they actually had a sick cat here, it'd probably be better for her to start sleeping in the warrior's den again. 

With that noted, Lionshine carefully stood up, moving to the wall of snow covering the entrance to the den. He looked up at it for a moment, expression grim as he considered. Sure, he could leave, but two of the other cats in here definitely didn't have his big coat; and they couldn't afford any more sick cats. So he looked to the corners of the entrance, grinning when he saw what he wanted- ice, creeping along the etches and lines of the stone. Using his claws, he broke off a large enough piece and picked it up in his mouth, heading back to his nest while waiting for it to melt; a drink was just what he needed after a dream like that. 

 

After all, the prospect of the clans completely falling apart, the herbs in his den being even more depleted than they already were, and this snow-fall lasting even longer than it already had was quite the dehydrating one.


End file.
